You Look Beautiful Like That – Studio Photography in West and Central Africa pays homage to the rich and widespread history of photographic practices in Africa. The exhibition runs through June, 2023 at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Tracing the development of African studio photography from the 1860s to the mid-1980s, this show features images by Cameroonian photographer Michel Kameni, Malian photographers Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta and Ivorian photographer Paul Kodjo, among others.

Image Credits

Top of Post: Paul Kodjo, Untitled, 1970s. Gelatin silver print. Overall: 50 x 40 cm. Purchase, with funds from the Photography Curatorial Committee, 2020. © Estate of Paul Kodjo, courtesy Les Rencontres du Sud. 2019/2325. Courtesy Art Gallery of Ontario

Second Image: Unknown photographer, Wedding Portrait from Album of Adults and Children Posing in their Local Costumes, Nigeria, Africa 1950s, 18 July, 1951. Gelatin silver print album: 24.3 cm x 15.4 cm x 2.2 cm. Private Collection. Courtesy Art Gallery of Ontario.